Emberá-Wounaan

Emberá-Wounaan is a comarca, or indigenous territory, in Panama. It was created in 1983. Its area covers 4,383.5 km².

Their homes are generally huts built on stilts along the river banks with a ladder they can pull up at night to prevent jungle animals from climbing up. The huts are normally open-air constructions without wallls and with a chonta palm thatched roof.

The Embera inhabit the banks of the Chucunaque, Tuira, Tupiza, and Chico rivers, as well as along the Chagres, Mocambo Abajo, San Antonio, Gamboa rivers and in Gatún and Majé in the province of Panama.

Location

The Embera-Wounaan Comarca is located in the province of Darién, specifically in the districts of Chepigana and Pinogana.

How to arrive

Car: Drive east along the Pan-American Highway towards the Darién Province. Since the Embera-Wounaan Comarca is divided into two regions, to visit one area you can take a boat at Kimba port and enter Metetí. The other alternative is to visit Emberá villages on the Chagres River. From the Pan-American Highway, turn right upon reaching La Cabima and follow this road past the Cemex cement factory until you reach the ANAM checkpoint, where you will have to pay the park entrance fee. Continue for less than a kilometer and turn right when you arrive at the lake, where you can wait for a boat passing by headed to one of the indigenous communities.